Hoosiers struggle from beyond arc until game’s end

For 39 minutes, the IU men’s basketball team might as well have shot every 3-point field goal from half court.

The Hoosiers were 3-of-13 from deep in the first half and finished 2-of-12 the rest of the way.

But if it weren’t for a late revival from beyond the arc in a 78-65 victory against Ferris State on Monday at Assembly Hall, those numbers — and the result — would have been much worse.

Sophomore guard Maurice Creek, who went 3-of-13 from deep, said IU coach Tom Crean didn’t discourage the team from shooting the 3-point shot.

“He always says to stay confident, and if it’s there, you’re going to shoot it,” Creek said. “You’re going to miss shots regardless; nobody is going to be perfect. He told us to be confident and precise on our shots, and that’s what we did at the end.”

In all, the Hoosiers put up 27 3-point attempts, three more than the team made from the field. Ferris State, meanwhile, tried just nine 3-pointers.

The reversal of fortune began, of all ways, with a four-point play from freshman guard Victor Oladipo. His long-range swish with a subsequent foul shot with 10 seconds on the clock tied the game at 61, and seemed to instill a new sense of confidence from deep.

As the game went into overtime, the 3-point shot became the Hoosiers’ best friend to pull away.

After a short jumper from sophomore forward Christian Watford gave the Hoosiers their first lead since the seven-minute mark in the first half, Creek drilled a 3-pointer one minute in to give the Hoosiers a five-point lead.

On the next possession, sophomore guard Jordan Hulls banged away a 3-pointer to give IU an eight-point advantage.

It might have been a good thing the longer shots started to fall, because the Hoosiers couldn’t find anything within the arc throughout most of the game, either.

Haunted by the Bulldogs’ zone defense, the Hoosiers shot 28 percent from the field in the second half, and the Ferris State lead ballooned to as high as 13.

Trouble at the 3-point line might continue deep into the season, as junior guard Matt Roth — who missed all but two games last season with a foot injury — left the game with an apparent knee injury and did not return.

Crean said he was more worried about the lessons learned from the game and the health of Roth, but he said he’s sure shot selection will be addressed before the Hoosiers open the regular season Friday against Florida Gulf Coast.